Tag holder and connector



A. W. JOHNSON.

TAG H OOOOOOOOOOO NECTOR.

A P P L I C A T l 0 N F l L E D J AN. 20, 1920. 1,348,281. Patented g- 3, 1920,

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ARTHUR W. JOHNSON, OF LA CROSSE, WISCONSIN.

TAG- HOLCDE R. AND CON NEC'IQR.

Spccificationoi Letters Patent. Patented Aug, 3 192() Application filed January 20, 1920. Serial No. 352,698.

T 0 aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR W. JoHNsoN, citizen of the United States, residing at #518 South Fourth street, in the city of La Crosse, La Crosse county, \Visconsin, have invented certain new and useful Tmprovements in Tag Holders and Connectors, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to tag holders and connectors and it has for its object to provide a device of a simple and economical nature constructed to engage and hold a shipping tag and to act as a connector by which the said tag may be connected to the package to be'shipped.

The device of the invention is intended primarilytor use where boxes, cans, crates or other packages are shipped from seller to buyer and returned for refilling and reshipment. It is highly desirable under these circumstances to provide a tag holder that may remain in engagement with the package but which will be so constructed that the tag itself may be completely removed with a minimum of trouble and another tag substituted therefor. However, it is also desirable to so construct the holder that it may, upon occasion, be removed from the package and readily applied to another package if the same becomes necessary.

In the accompanying drawing in which like reference characters designate corresponding parts in both of the figures:

Figure 1 is a perspective view with the parts in the position they occupy when the trigger has been sprung out of the hook to permit the insertion of a tag; and

Fig. 2 is a like view with the parts in the position they occupy after the tag has been engaged by the holder.

Referring to the drawing it will be seen that the holder is'formed of a single piece oi wire, the bight portion of which is bent to form a loop 5. At one side of the loop the wire is given an inward bend 6, is then extended longitudinally at 7, is bent outwardly at 8, extended longitudinally at 9, and bent inwardly at 10 to form a trigger.

The wire at the other extremity of the loop is bent upon itself as shown, to form arms 12 and 13 which lie in such spaced relation to each other as to permit the portion Y to work and be guided therebetween. At the outer extremity of the arm 13 the wire is bent upwardly and then inwardly and is then given a return bend to form the bifurcated hook consisting of the legs 14 and 15. The wire then bent downwardly and inwardly to form a leg 16 which lies beneath but in spaced relation to the leg 15. The trigger 10 may move laterally to traverse the bifurcated hook and it is apparent that if a shipping tag be inserted in said hook and the trigger 10 be permitted to move to a position where it traverses the eye of said tag, the tag will be etl'ectively held against withdrawal. In the manufacture 01" the device the wire of which it is formed will be so bent that the trigger 1O will tend to spring to the position illustrated in Fig. 2 and when it is desired to insert a tag in the holder the operator exerts pressure upon the part 7 and the parts 12 and 18 to press these portions together and to consequently spring the trigger to the position illustrated in Fig. 1. By springing the part 7 in the opposite direction until the trigger 10 is free of the hook the device may be engaged with the handle of a milk can, crate or other package, such a bandle being indicated at 17 in Figs. 1 and 2 and the shipping tag being indicated at 18 in said figures. If it is desired, the leg 16 may be bent toward the leg 15 of the bifurcated hook after the trigger 10 has assumed its traversing position, to thereby frictionally engage the trigger between the legs 15 and 16 to prevent the same from being accidentally displaced.

Thus it will be seen that the engagement of the holder with the tag or the disengagement of the tag from the holder may be brought about independently of the engagement of the holder with the handle of the iackage. Thus it is possible for the holder to remain in engagement with the same package for an indefinite period. The fact that the package carries a tag holder which will enable a commission merchant, for example, to quickly attach a tag thereto for reshipment of the package to the owner will encourage such reshipment It is a well known fact that many shippers have great difiiculty in getting their packages returned. This is not due to the fact that the parties receiving these packages are dishonest but is due to the fact that they are usually very busy and are disinclined to take the time necessary to tack or otherwise afiix reshipping tags to the packages. It is manifest therefore that any device that renders it possible to quickly and easily attach a tag to the package will act to encourage the practice of promptly reshipping the empty packages to the owner.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise construction set forth but that it includes Within its purview whatever changes fairly come within either the terms or the spirit of the appended claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim is c 1. A device of the character described comprising a handle engaging loop, a bifurcated element adapted to receive the eye of a shipping tag therebetween and a laterally movable trigger traversing said bifurcated member. 7

2. A device of the character described formed of a single piece of wire bent to form a handle engaging loop and bent at one extremity of the wire to form a bifurcated element and bent at the opposite extremity of the wire to form a laterally extending trigger which springs into a position where it traverses the bifurcated element, under the tension of the wire.

3. A device of the character described comprising a single piece of wire, the bight portion of which is bent to form a handle engaging loop, said -wire at one extremity of the loop being bent to form a bifurcated hook and said wire being bent at the other extremity of the loop to form a laterally extending trigger adapted to traverse the said hook the tension of the wire being such that when the structure is released the trig ger moves to a position where it traverses said hook.

4. A device of the character described formed of a single piece of wire and bent to form a handle engaging loop and bent at one end of said loop to form a part which extends first inwardly and then longitudinally and then outwardly and then longitudinally and terminates in an inwardly extending trigger, the Wire being bent at the opposite extremity of the loop to form spaced portions between which the first named longitudinally extending part moves, the wire at the extremity of the last named portion being bent to form an inwardly directed bifurcated hook that is traversed by said trigger.

ARTHUR W. JOHNSON. 

